Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG)
Background
At a meeting held in Beijing on 17 April 2009, representatives from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, and Macau SAR agreed that it was necessary for accounting standard-setters in the region to establish a platform to discuss problems and share experiences in the convergence process, to participate in the development of IFRSs, and to make contributions to a single set of high quality global accounting standards. As a result, representatives agreed to establish the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) as early as possible with membership of the AOSSG opens to all accounting standard-setters in the Asia and Oceania region (as defined by the United Nations).
The AOSSG's website can be found at www.aossg.org.
AOSSG member standard-setters
The AOSSG currently has member standard-setters from the following jurisdictions in the Asian-Oceanian region: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Dubai, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship of the AOSSG is rotated among the AOSSG members, which are currently held for a two-year period (initial appointments were for one year). The representative of the standard-setter member acting as Vice Chairman becomes the Chairman in the subsequent period. Malaysia held the inaugural Chairmanship of the AOSSG, with Japan holding inaugural Vice Chairman.
To assist the AOSSG's operation, a Chairman's Advisory Committee was formed in September 2010. The Committee may respond to issues raised by the Chairman or Vice Chairman, suggest agenda items for meetings, suggest issues for consideration by working groups, advise the Chairman whether to call special meetings, and provide advice on other matters as necessary. The Committee was initial constituted with eight members of the AOSSG, being those from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Objectives
The objectives of the AOSSG, as documented in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) adopted at the inaugural AOSSG meeting on 4-5 November 2009, are as follows:
- Promoting the adoption of, and convergence with, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) by jurisdictions in the region
- Promoting consistent application of IFRSs by jurisdictions in the region
- Coordinating input from the region to the technical activities of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
- Cooperating with governments and regulators and other regional and international organisations to improve the quality of financial reporting in the region.
The AOSSG is a foundation member of the IASB's Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), represented by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).